Tris' POV

Today's Fear Landscape day.

"Aren't you the least bit nervous?" I demand. Christina is just before me in the line of Fear Landscape times, but even though she acts like she can't STAND any of her fears, she seems surprisingly calm.

"Of course. But try to be calm, and maybe think how WONDERFUL your fear is. For example. Tell me one of your fears."

I think of which one I could tell her. "Um. I'm in a water tank and there's water filling up. And there's no way to escape."

Her eyes widen. "That's...scary Tris. Anyway. Think of how cold and refreshing the water feels. Try to lose common sense, and think that breathing in the water or drinking it is a good idea. Your heart rate will slow down."

I whisper to her what I say next. "Four said they changed it, and your have to overcome your fear instead of slowing your heart rate down."

She slams her hand onto the wall, hard. "WHAT? They CAN'T! I-I can't-"

"They CAN, Christina. And they did. So you better find a way to overcome your fears."

Water tank. I can drink the water, I guess, because it looks clear, not dirty. Crows, I can play among them. Haha. Ocean, and can swim to the shore, yeah. Shooting family, self-sacrifice, or actually shoot them. Kidnapping, say random stuff, act happy, I don't know. Kill them, maybe? Burning. Well, I have no choice. I have to use my Divergence to call rain.

I watch as Marlene, who's before Christina, faces obstacle after obstacle. After she's done, wide-eyed and terrified, Christina goes in. I see her trying to act happy, trying to overcome her fears, but the tension in her shoulders, the fake-ness of her smile gave away that she was really terrified. It takes a while before she's done and comes out. As I walk into the Fear Landscape room, I catch a glimpse of Christina, her head in her hands, her knees curled up towards her, sobbing.

I try to shoot her a sympathetic glance but the operator ushers me in and I can't.

I close my eyes as he inserts the needle into my neck. "Remember, Ms, that the system has changed so that you have to overcome your fear instead of simply calming down." I sigh as the serum goes into my bloodstream, and everything goes black.

I KNOW what's first. I stand in the endless, empty field, awaiting the crows. I even wince as I see the first bird take flight. I will not call a gun this time, because that's not what will happen in real life. I wait as many of the crows start to surround me. I ignore the burning pain in my shoulders as their talons dig into my skin, as they peck me for all it's worth. I talk, I play, once I even laugh. It is fake, but it will fool my administrator.

I wait for the program to move on. It doesn't.

I scream into my hands and play with the birds individually, touching every feather, stroking each beak. Once, one of them squawks in my face, and even though it's horrible, I let out a laugh. I pretend to enjoy it. My heart feels like it's beating so hard it's going to pop out of my chest. To me- everything sounds fake. Every smile, every movement seems designed to make me go on to the next obstacle, seems made. But it seems as I try to relax, my administrator is more and more convinced that I am getting over my fear, and soon enough, the field disappears and I am on the next obstacle. I breathe a sigh of relief. That was horrible.

It's the glass tank. I try not to look at the people outside the tank, who are steadfastly ignoring that I'm going to die. I try to calm down. When the water reaches my knees, I cup my hands and drink the water. It tastes bitter, surprisingly, but clean enough. I look down as I try to stop the rush of water by drinking it when I notice that there's a change from last time.

The water. It's coming out from a pipe. A small pipe, sure, really narrow and tight, but a pipe nonetheless. I just covered it, blocking the path of the water, and in seconds it moved on.

(A/N: I'm not sure which order the rest are in, so sorry if I mix it up, etc)

It's the ocean. The sound of the water is overwhelming, and I grab onto a rock, desperate for survival. As I hold on, I can't help myself- I marvel at the huge body of water. So powerful. Important. It's beautiful.

Yelling, I grab on to more pieces of jagged rock, coming closer and closer to the shore. With one final pull, I haul myself onto the shore, and sigh in relief, panting. By far, this is the most tiring obstacle.

I allow myself to relax, letting my muscles be still and stiff for a while. But when I try to move them, I can't. Oh no, I know what this is. The burning at the stake. I close my eyes for a brief moment. I open them, ready to come out fighting.

"Smell that, Stiff?" Peter asks. I roll my eyes. I think the simulation doesn't change what Peter says, no matter what my response.

"WhatEVER," I say, pretending not to care.

"That's the smell of your burning flesh." The flames start to rise. I scream as the first one touches my bare skin. It stings, it burns. I can't think. It's going to kill me, I'm going to die.

I breathe. Okay, Tris. You have to calm down and call rain, or you're probably going to be stuck here forever. "Know what I smell?"

Peter and the others stare blankly ahead, with smiles of malice plastered across their faces.

"I smell rain." Thunder booms ahead. I feel one drop. It quenches the flames and gradually heals my skin. I let out a sound that sounds like a cross between a sigh and yell as the simulation progresses.

I see mirrors around me. Oh, it's the kidnapping. I hate this one. I position myself inside the dresser, and will a gun to appear. I take it in my hands, and keep as quiet as possible as I hear my kidnappers approach. I hold the door closed just in case.

The main man- the aptitude test one- grabs the handle of the door and with mighty force, pulls it open. I gasp as I am exposed, and I shoot for all it's worth. The man falls, but as usual, many follow behind. This time, I will my gun to reload every time I shoot. I don't run out of bullets, but the simulation doesn't run out of men.

I am dead.

I remember what plan I made for this obstacle. Oh right- act happy. "Oh my gosh, guys! Did you see those new Gucci bags? They are TOTES FABU! And what the PEPPERONI are you guys doing? Kidnapping me to the secret HIDING PLACE?" I fake-giggle, slapping the nearest man's arm. "So NAUGHTY! I'm telling my parents!" I start to laugh. "You guys should really change your clothes! They are SO last season. Know what I mean? It's like, YEAH, you're wearing brown, OK but WHY? That's what was in trend LAST YEAR!" I snap my fingers in the Z formation, the way people do when they want to act sassy.

I'm ridiculous. Maybe my administrator is laughing now. Probably is.

But it worked. I laugh with joy, and relief. IT WORKED! I move on to the next obstacle.

I feel the cold barrel of the gun pressed to my temple before I could assess what'd happen next. "Do it," Jeanine spits out. "Do it, or I'll kill you." I close my eyes.

"Tris, go ahead. I understand." Caleb nods briefly.

"Tris, you have no other option," my father whispers.

"Tris, we love you no matter what." My mother.

(A/N this is before *SPOILER ALERT* her parents die and Caleb is discovered to be a traitor)

"SHUT UP!" I scream in frustration. I take the gun in my hand, and toss it on the ground. On second thoughts, I pick it up, and aim.

I fire.

Jeanine's body is on the ground, a bullet to the head, where I aimed it.

I saved my family and myself, but I killed Jeanine. I think that's a pretty balanced combination.

I black out for a moment as I register something- it's over. I've faced all 6 fears.

"That was...impressive," a voice says. Must be the administrator.

"What was impressive?" I ask.

"Well. Six fears, and you found a way to conquer some pretty tough ones." He nods- regarding me higher than the others. "Good job."

I just scare ahead. How did I do it?

"And also," he adds as I'm walking out the door. "Nice way you handled the kidnapping. It was really funny." He chuckles.

I manage a smile. "Just did it on the top of my head," I reply.

He nods. "Cool. Now you may go. NEXT!"

I step outside as the next person- Lynn- goes in. I see Christina waiting for me.

"Hey, Chris," I greet her as I approach her. She has a worried look on her face. "What's wrong?"

She bites her lip. "My fears. I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Someone must've manipulated the simulation, because the fears-"

The End! Cliffhanger. Don't hate me. Hope you like the story so far:)

-blacksilver17